San Francisco, Panama

Not many neighborhoods in Panama City match what San Francisco offers.

It’s close to the downtown center and distinctly urban, but the metropolitan vibe is low-key and more relaxed than the other sought-after areas in the city center.

The corregimiento of San Francisco stretches from Panama Viejo in the northeast to the Cinta Costera in the southeast, with Vía España as the northwest boundary. This includes other neighborhoods like Punta Pacífica, Paitilla, and Coco del Mar.

San Francisco is Panama City’s best option for living a quiet, residential, urban lifestyle.

This is a rapidly growing middle-, upper-middle, and upper-class neighborhood with a mix of homes and high-rise apartments. And, if you’re looking for a peaceful neighborhood atmosphere, there are zones and residential communities consisting of just homes, without towering complexes.

San Francisco is a nice, quaint residential area with all the necessary amenities of urban living, though with less nightlife than El Cangrejo, fewer tourists than Casco Viejo, shorter buildings than the skyscrapers in Punta Paitilla, and quieter streets than much of the rest of the city center.

Unless you live right beside one of the neighborhood’s thoroughfares like Calle 50, Vía Israel, or Vía Porras, you won’t have to worry about the sounds from the street drowning out the conversations in your living room.

As a couple, you’ll spend about US$3,578 a month living in San Francisco. It’s one of the more expensive corregimientos in Panama City, but the quality of life is well worth the price tag.

You’ll spend US$2,000 a month or more renting a three-bedroom, modern home. But you can opt for an apartment and spend US$1,500 a month or less on rent.

Expert tip: You can search on local websites like Encuentra 24 or on local Facebook and Instagram pages, to find nice prospects for as little as US$800 to US$900 a month.

Panama uses the U.S. dollar.

Apartment Or House Ownership Budget (For A Couple)

Apartment Or House Rental Budget (For A Couple)

San Francisco, Panama: Penny-Pincher’s Budget (Bare Minimum Costs, For A Couple)

San Francisco is a popular neighborhood among expats and foreigners. It’s unknown how many expats live in San Francisco, but it’s a sizeable community.

Expats are drawn to San Francisco because it offers something for every budget. It features the perfect balance between urban and suburban living. For many expats it’s more appealing than Áreas Revertidas or Costa del Este since it is in the heart of the city, with easy access to banking and business centers.

Most importantly, this is an appealing area for families because there are still zones that consist entirely of private homes with sizeable yards.

There are plenty of diversions and extracurricular activities for children, and Parque Omar regularly offers activities for kids.

We recommend you learn Spanish so you can enrich your experience. Just because you can get by with English doesn’t mean you’d be living a full, well-rounded life without knowing Spanish.

Learning the basics of Spanish will make things like dealing with service people (electricians, mechanics, gardeners, police, etc.) who may not speak any English much easier.

Parque Omar

San Francisco is home to the “Central Park” of Panama City—Parque Omar, a 140-acre green sanctuary surrounded by a concrete jungle.

Formerly a golf course, the park today is covered with trees, providing plenty of shade. You can run, jog, bike, or walk the trail that encircles the park or workout on the free outdoor exercise equipment.

Parque Omar holds open-air concerts during the dry season (mid-December through April). You’ll also find the National Library, art displays, historical monuments, food carts, fruit and smoothie/juice stands, film screenings, plays, and several festivals.

The Children’s Festival is celebrated here every year with three days of games, culture, and education for kids of all ages.

Multiplaza Mall

Multiplaza Mall is a shop-a-holic’s paradise with more than 500 shops ranging from low- and mid-end to luxury stores like Louis Vuitton, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Coach, Rolex, and many others—there’s an entire hall dedicated to the highest-end shops.

You’ll also find U.S.-brand stores like American Eagle, GAP, Calvin Klein, Express, Tommy Hilfiger, and many others, as well as European brands, like H&M, Lacoste, and Armani, and Panamanian stores like Steven’s.

Multiplaza is also home to a Cinepolis movie theater with a VIP room and 3D showings.

San Francisco is one of the safest neighborhoods in Panama City. However, you should take precautions if walking around at night, as you would in any other part of the world.

You can feel safe walking outside during the day—there are always crowds of people out and about.

Robberies, theft, and petty crimes are most common in San Francisco, and they’ve decreased in recent years thanks to neighborhood watch groups and an increase in police foot patrols.

San Francisco is located in Panama City. The weather here is consistent throughout the year.

The daytime temperature is about 86°F (30°C). At nighttime the temperature drops to about 75°F (about 24°C).

During the summer months,Panama Cityaverages up to eight hours of sunshine each day and you don’t need to worry about what shoes you’ll wear and whether or not you should bring a raincoat or umbrella with you.

But, during the rainy season, the amount of sunlight hours is just six hours, and it’s almost always guaranteed that it’ll start raining past noon.

Make sure to use closed comfortable shoes and always bring an umbrella or a raincoat with you.

Panama’s two finest private hospitals are in the corregimiento of San Francisco.

Hospital Punta Pacífica is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Hospital in the States and offers outstanding care in the areas of urology, cardiology, orthopedics, physical therapy, gynecology and obstetrics, nephrology, endocrinology, and more.

Hospital Paitilla is another world-class medical institution with cardiology, plastic surgery, dermatology, endocrinology, speech therapy, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology and obstetrics, and many other departments.

Both facilities also offer internal medicine, general surgery, and specialized surgery, like brain and heart operations.

There are many private clinics throughout San Francisco with general and specialty doctors. If you’re looking for a chiropractor, physical therapist, allergist, dentist, orthodontist, fertility specialist, mental health expert, or another practitioner, you won’t need to leave San Francisco to get the care you need.

Plus, you’ll find pharmacies throughout the neighborhood, in case you need prescription medications.

U.S. citizens may enterPanama without a visa and remain in the country as a tourist for a maximum of 180 days per trip. And, if you wish to stay longer than 180 days, you need to seek permission to remain in the country.

The Specific Countries visa program is available to citizens of 50 specifically named countries, including the United States. if you hold a passport from one of the 50 countries on the list, this is the best Panamanian residency option after Panama’s pensionado visa.

Panama’s pensionado program offers special benefits and discounts for foreign retirees. To sum up, it’s the current Gold Standard.

Retiring in Panama, you can save as much as 50% on everything from restaurant meals to in-country airfares, and from prescription medicines to closing costs on your new beach house.

Panama’s Visa has been attracting foreign retirees in growing numbers for more than a decade.

As a result, it offers many and very user-friendly options for establishing foreign residency if you want to live here full-time, and it is home to established and welcoming communities of expats and retirees. And, San Francisco, Panama, is an ideal option for both.